Charlie Eppes
Charles Edward Eppes, known simply as Charlie, is one of the main characters on the show Numb3rs. Charlie is a mathematical genius and works as a professor of applied mathematics at the (fictional) California Institute of Science, or CalSci and as a math consultant with the FBI and his Special Agent brother, Eppes. Pre-Series As a child prodigy, Charlie's childhood was unique and most certainly not easy. He could multiply four-digit numbers in his head when he was three years old, and working with special teachers at four years old. He attended high school at the same time as his older brother, attended Princeton University at age thirteen, graduating when he was sixteen. His paper on the Eppes Convergence cemented his title in the mathematical world. While attending Princeton University, he met Larry Fleinhardt, his teacher and mentor, who would eventually become a close friend. After graduating from university, Charlie went back home and took a job at the California Institute of Science. He lived in his parent's home, but had very little contact with his brother, who was in Mexico working in Fugitive Recovery at the time. About one year before The Pilot, Charlie's mother, Margret fell ill, and Don left Mexico to stay with the family. During this time, Charlie receded into his work, in denial about his mother's state, causing a lot of tension between Don and Charlie as their mother continued to weaken. When their mother passed away, Charlie and Don were less close than before, though Don stayed in California and took a job at the FBI. Series To Be Written Character-Development To Be Written Personality Charlie is stubborn and hardworking to the point of being obsessive. Alan once states that although Charlie is very observant in certain areas, he sometimes completely misses other things. Charlie is easily captivated by a problem presented to him and will work tirelessly to solve it, often staying up long hours in his garage with his chalkboards full of equations. He is often very enthusiastic about his work and eager to share excessive explanations with anyone who will pause to listen. He talks fast and is a little disorganized; never standing still, gesturing with his hands and stacking papers everywhere. Charlie also has a very strong sense of right vs wrong and feeling of guilt. When taking a polygraph test, he is extremely nervous and anxious, confessing to childhood crimes such as stealing a baseball card from a friend and accidentally killing his brother's class gerbil. Charlie is quite idealistic when it comes to social problems and relationships as evidenced clearly throughout the series, especially in season 5, when he questions whether his work with the FBI. Charlie can be incredibly stubborn and child-like when upset, and holds strong grudges against people who he feels have wronged him. Charlie is described by Larry as egotistical, but he is extremely loyal to his family and friends, doing anything in his power to keep them healthy, safe, and happy. Charlie is occasionally a little naive when it comes to human behaviour, being a child prodigy in the math world, however, this is not one of Charlie's prominent characteristics, as he is quite capable of handling himself properly in social situations. Charlie is a rationalist. He is disbelieving of UFOs and psychics and disapproves of magic and gambling. He is not willing to suspend his disbelief or take chances as he is very mathematically based in his thought process. However, Charlie is fairly open to religion and faith - his family is of Jewish decent but doesn't really practice the religion, but Charlie is supporting of his brother when Don decides to find himself through Judaism. Relationships With Main Characters Don Eppes Don and Charlie were not very close during childhood, due to the age gap and Don's feelings of inferiority and resentment towards Charlie's math genius. Don disliked Charlie's presense in his school life as his genius younger brother, and resented having to tote his younger brother around with him. However, as annoyed and embarrassed as Don was at Charlie being in the same grade as him, Don still protected Charlie from school bullies. When their mother died, Don was angry with Charlie for hiding in the garage during the last months of her life, and they saw very little of each other. However, Charlie's work with Don brought them close together, and over the series, they learned to reconcile their differences and developed a much more friendly, affectionate relationship. They become very close and loyal towards one another; in season 4, Don vouches for Charlie's FBI clearance, risking his own job doing so. Margaret Eppes Charlie was especially close with his mother and took her sickness and following passing particularly hard. He spent the last three months of her life in the garage, unable to face her, working on a supposedly impossible question - N vs NP - misguidedly thinking that he may be able to cure her sickness. Because Margaret had supported Charlie all his life, even moving to another state for Charlie's university education, she probably understood Charlie better than the rest of the family. Alan Eppes Charlie was not as close to his father as his mother during his childhood, because Charlie felt that a father should be able to teach their son things, Charlie always tried to keep his math world away from his father. However, as he became an adult, he became closer to his father, and started to learn that Alan had other skills and knowledge to give Charlie. He bought the family home from Alan in season 1 and Alan lives with Charlie for the rest of the series, though talk is made of Alan's moving out, he never does. Alan provides simple, straightforward insight into Charlie's FBI work, his moral conflicts, and his relationship with Don and Amita. Larry Fleinhardt As Charlie's mentor turned friend, Larry has almost a father/son dynamic with Charlie. He looks out for Charlie, helping him with his math problems and providing insight and different perspective for him when he needs it. Larry's thoughts and input if often just what Charlie needs to crack a case in time. In turn, Charlie looks out for Larry, offering him housing when he finds out Larry is living in his office, helping him start his relationship with Megan, and vouching for Larry in order to get Larry into space, and worrying when Larry is disconnected when he comes back from his space mission. Amita Ramanajan At the beginning of the series, Charlie is Amita's thesis advisor. Charlie initially insists that he does not have feelings for Amita, but soon comes to realize them as the season progresses. After Amita completes her thesis, she becomes a close friend, colleague, and eventually, after a few false starts, his girlfriend. Charlie proposes to her in the Season 5 finale, and they get married in the Season 6 and series finale before they move to Oxford for a year. Amita provides a bit of calm and security in Charlie's life, helping him with his calculations and guiding him through conflicts with his family. David Sinclair David joined Don's team on the same case that Charlie first got really involved with Don's work, so he really believes and puts faith into Charlie's math. Charlie and David are seen to be close friends. They have had a handful of small disagreements (for example, in 36 Hours) but David is generally fully supportive of Charlie. Colby Granger When Colby first joined the team, he was disbelieving of Charlie's applications. However, the more he worked on the team, the less dubious he got, and he quickly began to trust the math, and even started to take some sort of pride in Charlie's work and its accuracy. Colby never really understands what Charlie's work really means, and doesn't try as hard as Megan or Liz or David to understand. As Charlie and Colby's work and skills are so different, Colby often ribs Charlie about his 'magical' equations in an almost brotherly way. Charlie seems to trust Colby, going to him for advice (Park Shooting). Even when the team thought Colby was a double-agent, Charlie was the one who encouraged the team to go after Colby and save Colby's life. Megan Reeves Megan is fairly close with Charlie and his family, especially once she and Larry become involved. She is fond of Charlie, affectionately regarding him as almost a little brother. She is very supportive and enthusiastic about Charlie's mathematical work for the FBI, almost right from the beginning. She listens, understands, and remembers a lot of what Charlie explains. Liz Warner Liz is similar to Megan in terms of level of understanding of Charlie's work. She, along with Megan, remember the most about Charlie's work, surprising the other agents. Charlie and Liz have few scenes along together, although they seem to get along well. Nikki Beatancourt Like Colby, Nikki was very skeptical of the idea of using math to solve cases, but eventually accepts Charlie's word as truth. She is rarely seen alone with Charlie, but they have never had a major falling out, probably because of their lack of interactions.